NAPOLEONmHistory, EnglishFrom the old Italian name Napoleone, used most notably by the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who was born on Corsica. It is possibly derived from the Germanic Nibelungen, the name of a race of dwarfs in Germanic legend, which meant "sons of mist". Alternatively, it could be connected to the name of the Italian city of Napoli (Naples).

OTMARmGerman, Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic name Audamar, which was derived from the elements aud "wealth, fortune" and meri "famous". This was the name of an 8th-century Swiss saint, an abbot of Saint Gall.

PERCIVALmArthurian Romance, EnglishCreated by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem 'Perceval, the Story of the Grail'. In the poem Perceval was one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table who was given a glimpse of the Holy Grail. The character (and probably the name) of Perceval was based on that of the Welsh hero PEREDUR. The spelling was perhaps altered under the influence of Old French percer val "to pierce the valley".

RAINEf & mEnglish (Rare)Possibly based on the French word reine meaning "queen". A famous bearer is the British socialite Raine Spencer (1929-), the stepmother of Princess Diana. In modern times it can also be used as a variant of RAIN (1) or a short form of LORRAINE.

RALPHmEnglish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanContracted form of the Old Norse name RÁÐÚLFR (or its Norman form Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the Norman conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was usually spelled Ralf, but by the 17th century it was most commonly Rafe, reflecting the normal pronunciation. The Ralph spelling appeared in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.

REGANfEnglishMeaning unknown, probably of Celtic origin. Shakespeare took the name from earlier British legends and used it in his tragedy 'King Lear' (1606) for a treacherous daughter of the king. In the modern era it has appeared in the horror movie 'The Exorcist' (1973) belonging to a girl possessed by the devil. This name can also be used as a variant of REAGAN.

SCARLETfEnglish (Modern)Either a variant of SCARLETT or else from the English word for the red colour. The word is derived (via Old French and medieval Latin) from Persian سقرلاط (saghrilat), the name of a type of cloth.

SIGISMUNDmGerman (Rare), Ancient GermanicForm of SIGMUND in which the first element is sigis, an older form of sigu. Saint Sigismund was a 6th-century king of the Burgundians. This was also the name of kings of Poland and a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

STEVENmEnglish, DutchMedieval English variant of STEPHEN, and a Dutch variant of STEFAN. The filmmaker Steven Spielberg (1946-), director of 'E.T.' and 'Indiana Jones', is a famous bearer of this name.